DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All the Xena stuff is the legal property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. This is the sequel to A New Family.

Of Friends and Gods
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"Okay, you try it," Callisto said after she had demonstrated to Lila the use of the staff.

Lila tried and after a couple of swings hit herself.

"No, no, no. Try it slowly, like a dance. Let me show you."

Lila gave her the staff and Callisto slowly demonstrated its use again.

"See? Gently and fluidly. Like water. Try it again."

Lila tried and this times she managed not to hit herself.

"That's it. Try it slowly for a while and then slowly increase speed."

Callisto observed her new, and so far the only, friend as she tried to master the staff. Lila didn't want to fight, but Callisto persuaded her that she needed to know how to protect herself in case she was alone. Lila had finally agreed and Callisto decided to get her a staff, because it didn't look offensive and she didn't want Lila to kill anyone.

"Okay. Now let me show you how to attack a person."

"I don't want to attack anyone," Lila objected as she gave Callisto the staff.

"Sometimes you don't have a choice. Now watch, I'll show you where to hit a person in order to knock them out."

Callisto slowly demonstrated and then gave Lila back the staff.

"Now, you try it."

"I might hurt you."

Callisto laughed.

"Don't worry, you won't. And if you do, it will be my own fault. Now try it slowly, I won't move."

"Okay."

Callisto stood still as Lila slowly practiced the swings and the thrusts. Suddenly, she felt that something was wrong.

"Get down!" she yelled as she grabbed Lila's staff, turned around and swung the staff through the air in front of herself.

Lila was confused for a moment, but when she saw the arrows flying towards them, she hit the ground. A moment later Callisto threw the staff back to her and ran away, screaming her war cry. Lila stared at the arrows in it, amazed. She looked after Callisto and saw that she was running toward the bushes, catching her chakram after disposing of the archers. She got up and plucked the arrows out. She stood still, unsure whether to help Callisto or not. Unfortunately, the bandits made that decision for her as a group of three approached. Lila gulped and clung to her staff. This wasn't like back at home when Gabrielle helped defeat those bandits and Lila was afraid.

"Callisto!" she called.

Callisto heard the call and immediately ran toward her. The bandits tried to stop her and she was forced to stop for a moment and dispose of several before she could proceed.

In the meantime, the trio had reached Lila and attacked her. Lila swung her staff. She just swung it at random at first, to keep bandits at a distance, but when one of them got too close, she hit him. She hecticly tried to remember the lessons from a few minutes ago. Callisto had showed her where she could hit without the danger of killing and Lila decided to test her new knowledge. The first man she hit had retreated, surprised, but the other two came closer. Lila remembered that Callisto had told her that sometimes one doesn't have a choice but to attack first and she did. She aimed at the knees and the family jewels and one of them was soon down, holding his treasure. The first man returned and Lila quickly attacked him while trying to avoid the other man.

Suddenly, the man dropped dead. Lila was surprised, but then she saw the knife in his back. She was confused that Callisto had the time to throw the weapon. Then she noticed that the other attacker was also confused and she quickly hit him on the head and then between the legs and the man went down. The first one had in the meantime regained his breath and was attempting to get up, but Lila quickly hit him on the head, turning off his lights. She observed the two men and hoped that she didn't kill them. When none of them moved, she looked how Callisto was doing.

Callisto was doing just fine and she was having a great time, disposing of the bandits. Lila was appalled when she saw how Callisto ruthlessly slaughtered the men, but at the same time she was also fascinated by the way Callisto moved.

Callisto had only three men left and they decided to retreat, but it was too late. They had attacked Callisto and no one attacks Callisto and gets away with it. Callisto threw her chakram and killed them. Then she looked at Lila.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

Lila nodded and looked around at the corpses.

"Are they dead?" she asked when Callisto got closer and pointed at the two soldiers that she herself had defeated.

Callisto glanced at them.

"No."

"Who were they?"

"I don't know. Probably from some local warlord."

"Why did they attack us?"

"They probably thought that they could handle me and take the credit for killing me."

"Oh," Lila said, still shocked by so many dead bodies. "Did you have to kill them all?" she asked.

Callisto looked around.

"Well, not really. I'm new at this do-gooder business, you know, and I have to get used to it." She smiled. "Pack our stuff, I'll get their money."

"You'll rob them?" Lila asked, surprised.

Callisto shrugged her shoulders.

"They won't need the money where they're going and we could use a decent meal and a bed."

"Oh. Okay."

Lila went to their stuff and started packing and Callisto first cleaned her weapons and then got the money.

"You know, I'll write this down when we get to an inn," Lila said as she made herself comfortable behind Callisto's back.

Callisto smiled.

"I bet you're gonna make Gabrielle jealous," she said.

"I doubt it."

"You never know."

"You think so?" Lila asked, excited.

"Of course."

Several hours later, they arrived to a town. Lila was just admiring some of the clothes she had seen when she noticed that Callisto was alert.

"Callisto?"

Callisto didn't respond for a moment.

"Come," she finally said and led them to the closest inn. "Take care of the horse, get something to eat and then wait by the horse. I'll be gone for a few hours and then we'll probably leave. Make sure no one sees you."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I've seen too many men wearing the same insignia as the men who attacked us a couple of hours ago. I'm going to find out who they work for and what their current mission is."

"Be careful."

Callisto smiled.

"I will."

Then she left.

While Callisto was gone, Lila took care of the horse, got something to eat and then went back to the horse. She had long since stopped writing the story and was bored out of her mind when Callisto finally arrived.

"Callisto!" she said, glad that her friend was okay.

Callisto flashed a brief smile and then thought.

"Have you found out who they work for?" Lila asked.

Callisto nodded.

"Listen, Lila, I want you to go home."

"What?"

"Please. These men are looking for the gate to the Outworld."

"Outworld?"

"Yes. Who ever passes through those gates becomes more powerful than a god. Even the gods don't know where the gate is and they will try anything to find it. The land around here will become a battle field when other warlords arrive and with the gods in the competition things will get very bloody."

"And you expect me to leave you alone?"

Callisto smiled.

"I can take care of myself, but if you come along, I will also have to take care of you."

"I'll be careful."

"No, Lila, it's too dangerous and you haven't yet mastered the staff. Please, Lila."

Lila wanted to object, but she saw the strange look in Callisto's eyes like she was about to cry.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Callisto smiled, relieved.

"I promise I'll tell you everything that will happen to me."

Lila's mood brightened a bit.

"Great!"

"Okay." Callisto thought. "I suggest that you go to the Amazons."

"Amazons?"

"Yes. They're closer than Poteidaia and they can show you some tricks with the staff."

"You think they would?"

"Of course, you're their Queen's sister."

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll stay with you for the night."

"Okay."

When Callisto woke up in the morning, she refreshed and dressed herself. She was about to leave when she remembered that she should do one more thing, just in case she wouldn't make it back. She went to Lila's bed and kneeled beside it. She observed her friend for a while and then kissed her on the forehead and caressed her. Then she left.

It was a long journey and Callisto soon found that there were many warlords searching for the gate to Outworld and she even found hints that the gods were looking for it too. She didn't like that one bit. The thought of anyone getting his or her hands on that much power made her shudder. Sure, she was evil and insane and in the past, she would probably try to get her hands on that power, but those days were behind her now. Now, she wasn't trying to get her hands on the power, but prevent anyone else from doing that. She smiled inwardly.

Then she thought about Lila. The young woman was just as innocent and slightly naive as her sister Gabrielle. She briefly wondered for the umpteenth time if she could have been like her had Xena not burned down her village and for the umpteenth time, she decided that she could have. She sighed. She realized that she really missed Lila and she wished for a moment that she was with her, but Callisto knew that it was best that she wasn't.

Suddenly, she noticed lightening in the distance where she knew that the gate would be. The battle for the ultimate power had begun. She took a deep breath and started to run.

When she got to the battle site, she saw that it was covered with bodies. Suddenly, a vortex opened and the battle stopped for a few brief moments as the combatants stared at the vortex. The gate to Outworld, Callisto thought. The battle quickly resumed.

It was bloody and the gods fought each other as well as the mortals. There were no more alliances or rules, everybody fought for themselves. Callisto tried to remain away from the main fight and let the others kill each other. She had seen a few mortals and a smaller god get killed when they tried to enter the vortex and she tried to figure out why.

Suddenly, she noticed that the vortex started moving. It was only a slow movement, barely enough to alert the fighters, but it soon became faster. Everyone who got in contact with it was killed instantly. Callisto didn't care about the rest getting killed nor did she have the time to, because the vortex was coming straight toward her. She quickly started to run, killing every one who got in her way. When she was a couple of hundred meters away from her previous position, she noticed that the vortex had changed its direction and was still heading toward her. Callisto changed direction again, but so did the vortex. Callisto stopped and waited for the vortex. When she could feel that she was being sucked in, she jumped aside, trying to avoid it, but the vortex changed direction again and sucked her in.

Lila! Callisto thought as she was being sucked her in.

Suddenly, she realized that she was in the Outworld and that she was still alive. She felt strange. She looked around and at first saw nothing, but soon that changed and she saw universes and the worlds within them. She thought about Lila and suddenly she could see her as she walked down the road.

Lila, she thought and she saw Lila turn, confused. She smiled.

Then she looked at the battle field and saw the corpses of the slain. They were still confused about the gate's disappearance. Callisto smiled. She was also confused, but not about the disappearance of the gate. She was confused about the fact that the gate seemed to choose her. She had no idea why she had been deemed worthy.

She looked around again and slowly realized that although she had immense powers now, she was still nothing compared to the Outworld, only a small, insignificant part of it.

She took a deep breath and smiled as she realized that she didn't need to breathe anymore. She considered what to do for a while.

Then she decided.

Cyrene was giving birth to a baby girl with black hair. Callisto couldn't help but wonder if she was ever so innocent looking as Xena was right now. She smiled as she saw herself being born in her mind. We were both so innocent, she thought as she watched her worst enemy grow up into a strong-minded girl. She watched as Cortese attacked Amphipolis and Xena helped defend it. She witnessed Lyceus' death and how Xena was stricken over it. She watched as Xena tried to protect her home by conquering other villages around it. She witnessed Caesar's betrayal and M'Lila's sacrifice. She saw Xena and Borias behave like animals and she saw how Lao Ma tried to change Xena. She was astonished when Solan was born and almost shocked as she witnessed Xena giving it away to her worst enemy. She saw that it was probably the hardest decision that Xena had ever made.

Finally, Cirra came. Callisto was always beside Xena, watching her face. She saw the shock on Xena's eyes when the fire broke out. Xena immediately ordered retreat, but her army didn't seem to listen at once. When they finally did leave, the village was but destroyed. She saw Xena linger behind for a while, watching the village from the distance, and she saw tears in her eyes. She followed Xena back to the camp and watched her unsuccessfully interrogate the men. She returned back in time and followed the actions of Xena's men just before the fire started. She soon located the man. He was not the only one, but it was his idea and he was the one who started the fire. She followed him through time and laughed when she discovered that she had actually killed him herself in a brawl in some inn. Then she returned back to Xena.

She saw her seduce Iolaus, making him nearly kill Hercules and she saw her protecting a small baby after her army had burned down a village. She saw how angry she was when she discovered that they had turned against her. She saw her determination after she had ran the gauntlet and she saw her nearly give up the fighting. Then she saw Gabrielle become her friend. She was surprised that Xena had a double. She was surprised by Gabrielle, who was willing to die just to bring Xena's body home, when Xena had nearly died. She also saw how stricken with grief Xena was when Gabrielle had nearly been killed and she saw how hard it was on her when she had to give up her son for the second time. She was surprised again when she saw that Xena had another double and she just had to laugh when she saw Xena enter a beauty competition and then a man won. She saw Xena die again and she saw Gabrielle's grief.

By now, she was no longer surprised by Xena's guilt when she let her fall into the lava pit. When Xena was fighting the Horde, Callisto thought that she would return to her old path, but she didn't.

She stood still for a while, observing Xena and Gabrielle talk and laugh at the campfire. Then she returned back to Cirra and watched her family die all over again. She stared at the dying flames and considered what she should do. She wondered if she should prevent this from happening or maybe just bring her family back to life. She sighed and then a thought occurred to her.

"Mama."

"Callisto!"

Hades was surprised when an intruder appeared in the Elysian Fields and even more when he discovered that it was Callisto. He was about to go to her when two more intruders appeared. He identified them as Xena and Gabrielle.

"Hello, Hades."

Hades jerked when Callisto appeared beside him.

"Callisto!" He looked at her and then back at image of the Elysian Fields where another Callisto was talking to her mother. "How can you be in the same place at the same time?"

Callisto smiled.

"Oh, that's simple," she said and another copy of herself appeared beside her. "See?"

"Hello, Hades," the second Callisto said. "I can make more of myself if you want."

Two more copies appeared.

"Hello, Hades," they said in unison.

"Okay, enough of this," the original Callisto said and all four copies became one again. "Anyway, I'm visiting my family down here."

"And Xena and Gabrielle?"

"Oh, it's the least I could do for them. They'll leave when the sand runs out."

"Good." Hades paused. "So, you managed to get to the Outworld?"

"Not exactly. You see, the Outworld got to me." Hades didn't seem to understand, but Callisto didn't mind. "Anyway, I'll be seeing you," she said and disappeared.

When the sand ran out, Xena and Gabrielle left the Elysian Fields just as Callisto had said.

"Xena…"

"Gabrielle…"

"You first."

"I was just in the Elysian Fields."

"Me too! I saw Perdicus."

"And I saw Lyceus."

Callisto smiled as the two friends started to chat excitedly. She watched them for a while and then left. She went to the place where she used to run when she was little and when she wanted to be alone.

She sat down, watched the river flow and thought.

It was nearly dark when she made up her mind.

"Hello, Zeus."

"Callisto!"

"Well, of course. You didn't think I was dead, did you?" Callisto looked around. "What a boring throne room."

"What do you want?"

"Well, not much, really. I just came to tell you that a part of me will stay on this world and she will be mortal. She will live and die just like anyone else. One part of me, however, will remain in the Outworld and will be connected to the mortal part and it won't matter whether she's dead or alive. So, anyway, I want the gods, especially Hera and Ares to stay out of my life. And of course out of Lila's and Xena's and Gabrielle's and Hercules' and Iolaus' lives and out of the lives of their friends and families. The divine part of me will be watching and if she doesn't like what she sees, then someone will die a very painful death. Do you understand?"

Zeus wanted to object, but his body shook with horrible pain and he screamed.

"Do you understand?" Callisto repeated.

Zeus nodded.

"Yes."

Callisto smiled.

"Good."

She disappeared and left Zeus to relax.

Callisto went back to the place where the vortex used to be. The corpses were still there and so were still some of the soldiers. She transported them away and then opened the gate. She stepped through and turned around. She saw part of herself on the other side.

"I will be watching," the divine part said.

The mortal part smiled.

"I know," she said and then the gate closed.

Callisto took her dagger and cut her palm. She smiled as the blood trickled down. She licked the cut and wiped the dagger. Then she went to her horse.

Callisto had been gone for a month now and Lila was starting to get bored in the Amazon village. It was interesting at first and Ephiny did teach her some new tricks, but she started to miss Callisto and her own family and she decided to go home. She hoped that Callisto was still alive.

She was slowly walking toward the nearest town, waiting for Callisto. Suddenly, she saw a noble carriage. There were two people fighting beside it. Lila started to run and she could soon hear screams of a woman. Lila started to run faster. When she got closer, she immediately hit the man with her staff. The man backed off from the woman and Lila could see that he had been raping her. She also noticed a wounded man on the ground.

"You…" the man said and attacked her.

The man was good and Lila had a few problems avoiding the man's dagger. Suddenly, she felt a cut over her chest. She screamed and backed off, touching the wound. It was not deep, but it still hurt. The man quickly attacked her again, but Lila miraculously managed to knock the dagger out of his hand.

The man was extremely furious by now and he attacked her with his bare hands. In the meantime, the raped woman picked up the dropped dagger. She sneaked behind the man who was strangling Lila and stabbed him in the side. The man let go of Lila and turned around, surprised. He reached for the hilt and pulled it out. He staggered toward the woman and stabbed her. The woman dropped dead and the man turned toward Lila, who was kneeling on the floor, catching her breath. The man swung the knife at her and she barely managed to catch his arm. She held it at the wrist with her both hands, but the man was strong and he was forcing her lower and lower. Lila desperately kicked him and managed to hit his wound. The man screamed and dropped on Lila, unconscious. Unfortunately, his head hit Lila's and she also lost consciousness.

When Callisto was passing through the third town since she left the Amazon village, she was really worried when she still didn't catch up with Lila. As she walked through the town, she soon noticed that the people were talking about something important. She stopped from time to time and eavesdropped on the conversations. She slowly got the whole picture. The prince and one of his escorts were murdered while another one was badly injured. The killer was supposed to be a young woman whose description closely matched Lila's. To make the matter worse, she was wounded and she was to be hanged the next day. Callisto's face became even paler than it already was.

She stood motionless for a while and then went to the castle. She demanded to see the king, but the guards laughed at her. She grabbed the leader by his neck.

"You will take me to the king. It's about the murder of his son."

The other guards, who immediately surrounded Callisto, looked at each other, surprised. The leader took a couple of deep breaths.

"Come," he said and motioned two guards to escort them.

Callisto followed the leader to the king and left her horse to a guard.

"Milord, this woman wanted to see you. She said it is about the murder of your son."

The king looked at Callisto sharply.

"What do you know about it?" he asked.

"I heard that a young woman was charged with the murder."

"Yes."

"Does she have brown hair tied at the top, green eyes, a long bluish dress, a staff and a bag?"

"Yes."

Callisto took a deep breath. She found it ironic that just as she had given up her powers, she would need them to save her friend. She considered whether to call her divine part to help, but she decided against it.

"She's innocent," she said after a moment of silence.

"Oh, really? And how would you know that?"

"Because I was there," Callisto lied.

The king frowned.

"You were there?"

"Yes. I was the one who killed the prince, she was trying to protect him."

The king stared at her for a while, sorting out his emotions.

"Take her to the prison and let the girl go."

Callisto let the soldiers disarm her and take her to the prison.

The next day, Callisto was taken to the gallows. The executioner put the rope around her neck and looked at the king. The king nodded and the executioner pulled the lever.

There was a commotion and the king looked to see what it was. It was the wounded servant.

"Milord, she's innocent," said the man.

"What are you talking about?"

"The woman you just hung. She was nowhere near when the prince died. He tried to rape Hesione. I tried to stop him, but he wounded me. When that girl came, she tried to stop him too. He tried to kill her, but she managed to knock his dagger from his hand. Hesione picked it up and stabbed him. He stabbed her back and then tried to kill the girl again. Fortunately, he died sooner."

The king stared at the man.

"I swear it on my soul, milord," the man swore.

The king stared a bit longer and then turned to the executioner.

"Cut her loose." He turned to one of the servants. "Get a doctor."

"Yes, milord," the servant said and left.

The wounded servant coughed and staggered a bit.

"Go back to bed."

"Yes, milord."

The king got up.

"I want to be alone," he said and went inside.

When Lila woke up, Callisto was sitting on her bed, holding her hand.

"Hello," Callisto said, smiling.

"Callisto!"

"How do you feel?"

"It itches like Tartarus."

Callisto laughed.

"Where am I? I… I…"

Her eyes became filled with tears. She didn't know how to tell Callisto that she was to be hanged.

"I know," Callisto said. "You are free. The servant survived and saw what happened."

"I won't be hanged?"

"No."

Lila relaxed and Callisto wiped her tears.

"The king said we can stay until you recover."

"We can?"

Callisto smiled, glad that Lila's mood was improving.

"Yes."

"Great! I've never been in a castle before. Where do you sleep?"

"Right here beside you," Callisto said and pointed at her gear.

"Here? But you could have your own room."

"I know, but I want to be with you."

"Oh."

Callisto smiled.

"I'll get you something to eat, okay?"

"Yes, I'm starving."

Callisto smiled again and left.

In the afternoon, when Callisto was talking care of her horse, an old servant came to Lila.

"Hello."

"Hello. How do you feel?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Quite a friend you have."

"Yes, she's great."

The woman smiled.

"You can say that again. One learns his true friends when one is in trouble."

Lila was puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

The woman sighed, thinking.

"Know what? Please tell me," Lila insisted.

"Well, she came to the king and said that she had killed the prince and that you were trying to protect him."

Lila was astonished.

"What?!"

"She was hung, but the servant who saw everything told the king just in time. A doctor barely managed to save her."

Lila stared at the servant agape.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew."

Lila shook her head.

"No, I didn't."

"Well, the king has invited you and your friend to dinner. If you feel strong enough."

Lila nodded absentmindedly.

"I will get you when the time comes."

Lila nodded again and the woman left.

Soon after the woman's departure, Callisto returned.

"Are you okay?" she asked when she saw Lila's strange look.

Lila jerked and nodded, still thinking about what the woman had told her. She knew that Callisto had changed a lot, but it still surprised her that such a warrior would willingly give her life for someone like her.

"Callisto," she finally said.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Callisto looked at her.

"For what?"

"For everything."

Callisto was confused.

"I thought I should be thanking you, not the other way around."

"Still."

Callisto rose her eyebrows.

"You're welcome," she said.

Lila smiled and Callisto smiled back.

"Oh, the king has invited us to dinner."

"Of course he did, after all, I am the Warrior Queen," Callisto said and grinned.

Lila laughed.

"So, how was your quest?" she asked when she stopped laughing.

Callisto's face became serious.

"It was just another Ares' plot. You should see the blood bath. It was really good that you didn't come with me." She paused. "And besides, no godhood can replace friends or love."

Lila smiled, happy.

After Lila got better, they left the castle, but they didn't return to Poteidaia. They were riding the horse, Lila behind Callisto, leaning on her with her arms clasped around her. Suddenly, Lila felt Callisto's body stiffen a bit. She lifted her head and looked over Callisto's shoulder. Not again, she thought when she saw a large group of bandits attacking a small caravan in the distance.

"Callisto?"

Callisto didn't respond immediately.

"Get off," she finally said.

Lila slid off the horse and Callisto spurred it. Lila followed her.

The future didn't look bright for the members of the caravan. Half of them were already dead and the other half was not far behind. Suddenly, the combatants heard an ear-piercing war cry and for a couple of moments the fight stopped as everybody looked around for the source of the scream.

They saw a blond woman on a horse. Suddenly, the woman stopped the horse and somersaulted over its head right into the middle of the bandits, killing four as she landed.

"Hello, boys. It's dying time," she said, smiling evilly, and slit two more throats.

The bandits quickly decided that the strange woman was there to help their prey and therefor had to die. The fight resumed, but this time the bandits were dying in greater numbers than before.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of bandits and only one Callisto and so, at first only, a small part of the attackers concentrated on Callisto and the rest kept killing the travelers.

When Lila finally got to the battle site, the travelers were all dead and Callisto was busy killing the remaining five of the attackers. Lila noticed that she was covered in blood. She hoped it was not hers.

She took her staff and attacked the attackers from behind. Two of them turned and attacked her. She didn't try to knock them down, she just avoided them and hoped that Callisto would quickly defeat the other three and come to help her.

When there were only three bandits left, Callisto quickly disposed of them and then of the two that were attacking Lila.

Callisto then looked around and bit her teeth.

"You did what you could, Callisto," Lila said.

Callisto looked at her and smiled bitterly. Then she looked up and down the road and noticed a large group of people approaching.

"Let's get lost," she said.

"Why?"

"There are people coming and I don't think we look like the saviors."

"Oh."

Callisto went to her horse and Lila noticed that she was in pain. She was hiding it, but Lila saw it nonetheless. She started to walk faster and caught up with Callisto just in time to catch her from collapsing to the ground. She didn't say anything, just supported her and helped her get into the forest. There she took a cloth and started to clean her. Callisto lost her consciousness.

Lila soon discovered that there were not dangerous wounds, but that there were numerous smaller wounds and cuts. She carefully cleaned them and was about to start bandaging them when the people they saw in the distance got to the battle site. She glanced at them and then started to bandage Callisto's wounds. She kept glancing at the people from time to time and when she saw that they were coming toward her, she reached for her staff and pulled it closer.

The people finally got close enough to see Callisto. Lila saw that only a few were armed with weapons, the rest had farming tools.

"Were you two fighting?" the leader of the people asked.

"Yes," Lila said.

"What happened?"

"Some bandits were attacking the caravan and we came to help. Unfortunately, we were too…"

"Hey, that's Callisto!" someone recognized Callisto.

Lila gulped and glanced at her staff.

"Is that true?" the leader asked.

Lila nodded.

"Yes."

The people moved closer. Lila grabbed her staff and got up and stepped between the people and Callisto. The people were surprised.

"We will take her to jail."

"Why?" Lila asked.

The leader was confused.

"Why? She's a criminal."

"Did she ever attack your village?"

The leader was still confused.

"No."

"Then you're not taking her anywhere."

"But she's a criminal."

"She has changed."

"Changed?" the leader asked.

"Yes. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but she has."

"Still, she's a criminal."

"So was Xena before she changed."

"Listen, girl, we have nothing against you, but we're taking Callisto with us."

"Over my dead body," Lila said determinedly.

The people were surprised. Some of the younger ones who were armed with swords came closer and tried to scare Lila, but Lila hit them with her staff.

"Get her!" one of them called and the youngsters attacked.

Lila gulped and avoided their attacks. She didn't want to hurt them, but she wasn't going to allow them to take Callisto with them either. She spinned around and kept the attackers at a distance.

"Look, Xena, I'm telling you, I would have won that contest if you hadn't… Xena?"

Gabrielle followed Xena's gaze and saw a large group of people and the remains of a caravan.

"There's a fight," Xena declared after a while. "Come."

Xena mounted Argo and helped Gabrielle up.

Lila was a bit tired, but she had managed to keep her attackers at bay so far. Unfortunately, other people were also joining the fight. Suddenly, someone turned off her lights.

The people slowly came closer to look at Lila. They were curious as to what kind of person would protect a butcher like Callisto. Suddenly, they froze as they heard Callisto's scream. They looked at the blond warrior and saw that she was conscious again.

"You bastards!" Callisto screamed and attacked.

The people were terrified and Callisto quickly killed three. Some were stupid enough to attack her while most ran away. Callisto screamed again. A couple of attackers decided it would be best if they ran away and so they did. Callisto quickly disposed of all but one.

She knocked him off his feet and straddled him. She gently ran her dagger across his neck, drawing blood as she went. She saw in his eyes that he was petrified.

"Not so bold anymore, hm?" she asked innocently. Then her face became lethal. "Tell your people that if I find as much as a scratch on her, I will come to your village and skin everybody alive. Do you understand?"

The man nodded.

"Good," Callisto said with an evil glee in her eyes.

She got up and went to Lila. The man backed off a bit before he got up and ran away as fast as he could.

Callisto checked Lila's pulse. She was still alive.

"Lila," she said softly, but there was no response. "Lila," she said louder and caressed her companion and then shook her.

Callisto took her gourd, wetted a cloth and wiped Lila's face. There was no response and Callisto gulped, worried. It's been a long time since she was worried or concerned about someone and now that she was, it scared her. Her eyes got wet.

Finally, Lila moaned.

"Lila?"

Lila opened her eyes and when she saw Callisto, she smiled. Callisto smiled back and hugged her.

Suddenly, Callisto heard footsteps behind her back. She grabbed her chakram and was about to throw it when she saw that it was Xena and Gabrielle. Strangely, she didn't feel the urge to hurt Xena nor the hate that kept her going since her family's death. She put away her chakram and turned back to Lila.

"How do you feel?"

"My head hurts."

Callisto smiled.

"Gabrielle!"

Callisto turned and saw that Gabrielle was running toward them. Callisto saw in her eyes that she was concerned for her sister. She let go of Lila and got up. She glanced at Xena and then left to get her horse.

"Lila, are you all right?" Gabrielle asked before she hugged her sister.

Lila hugged her back.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"A large group of bandits was attacking a caravan. Callisto went to help, but she was too late. The bandits killed the travelers and Callisto killed the bandits. I was just dressing her wounds when those people came and wanted to take her to jail. I wouldn't let them and they attacked me. One of them hit me on the head. The next thing I remember is Callisto leaning over me."

"She helped defend the caravan?" Xena asked with disbelief.

"Yes."

Callisto returned with her horse. She tethered it and then started to take care of her wounds. When Xena approached her, she grabbed her sword, but she let it go when she saw in Xena's eyes that she wasn't coming to fight. Xena helped her dress her wounds and Callisto didn't object.

Xena saw that Callisto's eyes were still a bit red. She must have been crying, she realized.

Callisto stared at her enemy for a while.

"It wasn't your fault," she finally said in a quiet voice.

Xena jerked.

"What do you mean?"

"Cirra. It wasn't your fault."

Xena was astonished and it took her a few moments to pull herself together.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I was there."

Xena was confused.

"I don't understand."

"It was Tros's fault." Xena stared at her, wide-eyed, not quite comprehending. "He started the fire on his own, you had nothing to do with it." Xena stared at Callisto, speechless. "He is dead," Callisto added.

Xena kept staring, totally confused.

"How do you know?" she asked after a while.

"I was there," Callisto mysteriously explained. Xena still didn't comprehend and Callisto smiled. "It doesn't matter. It was not your fault."

Xena didn't understand, but she saw that Callisto wasn't going to explain it to her.

"So, you're teaching Lila how to fight with a staff," she said instead.

"Yes." She paused. "Do you want to stay for lunch?"

Xena was surprised.

"Do you have enough food?"

"No, but I can…"

"No, I'll get it, you rest."

Callisto rose her eyebrows, but didn't object.

"Gabrielle!"

"Yes?"

"Get some firewood, we're staying for lunch."

Gabrielle was surprised.

"Okay," she said and turned back to her sister. "I'll be right back."

When Xena and Gabrielle were gone, Callisto stared at Lila. Deep down she felt moved that someone cared so much for her that she was willing to sacrifice her life for hers. An innocent life for the life of a monster. Callisto took a deep breath.

"Lila."

Lila looked up.

"Ah?"

"Thank you."

Lila smiled.

"You're welcome."

Callisto smiled back.

"And don't you ever do something like that again. They might have killed you."

Lila gulped.

"I know. But it would be worth it," she said seriously.

Callisto stared at her, astonished. Lila came closer.

"You're like a sister to me, Callisto, and I would die for you just like for any other member of my family."

Callisto stared for a couple of more moments and then hugged Lila. It felt so good to have a family again.

The End